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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28657848">Innocuous</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/alilypea/pseuds/ALilyPea'>ALilyPea (alilypea)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Feels, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:40:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,367</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28657848</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/alilypea/pseuds/ALilyPea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a small innocent comment made in jest, but the feelings T.K had felt as a child were anything but. He needs his dad to know he's over it, and then Carlos has a surprise for him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlos Reyes/TK Strand</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>168</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Innocuous</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you again for the warm welcome, 9-1-1 Lone Star fam. You're all so kind and amazing; this is dedicated to you.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a small innocuous comment, stated over lunch with the team that meant nothing to him but apparently everything to everyone else. He regretted it almost immediately as he looked over the team.</p><p>Marjan looked stunned and like she pitied him. Mateo’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes wide with anxiety as he looked from T.K to everyone else in the room. Judd was glaring at T.K’s father as though he had been personally offended, and Owen…</p><p>He looked like someone had just punched him in the stomach, eyes full of pain and perhaps longing as he stared back at his son.</p><p>Paul...well, Paul didn’t look surprised, which wasn’t really a revelation. He always seemed to know what everyone thought before they even considered it. </p><p>“T.K,” Owen spoke, voice soft, just before the bell rang.</p><p>“Well guys, time to get going,” He was the first up; grabbing his finished plate, he practically dropped it in the sink before rushing for his turnout gear.</p><p>Maybe it would be something more significant than the bush fires they’d been working with lately, something more interesting than him spilling his guts metaphorically speaking, all over the firehouse again.</p><p>He didn’t know why he had said it, and he didn’t mean it. Not anymore. It was something he’d believed as a child, something he’d thought every time he’d watched his father walk out the door to spend time with his other family. With the people in that firehouse and the ghosts left behind there after 9/11. </p><p>T.K knew Owen loved him; he hadn’t doubted it since he was 18, or at least not seriously. </p><p>Throughout everything, every misstep and mistake T.K had made, especially since his parent’s divorce, his father had been there.</p><p>He’d brought him down when he was high. He’d nursed him through withdrawal and held him when he cried.</p><p>Owen was the one who saw the good in him against all the odds and everyone else who looked down on him. </p><p>And this one stupid comment, made in light when they were all joking about their parents when he thought back on his parent’s divorce, had placed that look on Owen’s face. That heartbreak. </p><p>Judd glanced at him when they were in the truck. “You alright?” </p><p>T.K jerked his head in a nod. “Fine,” his voice was clipped, but he didn’t need to be distracted right now, not even by his own emotions. </p><p>Judd seemed like he might object like he might say something before he looked around and nodded as well. He’d let sleeping dogs lie, for now.</p><p>T.K looked out the window and was out of the truck, operating the hose as soon as he was told to, his shoulders aching slightly as he rolled it out, but it was pleasant.</p><p>Another brush fire, the summer too hot and dry; teenagers too idiot to realize that smoking near a field was pure idiocy. </p><p>He shouldn’t really judge, though; it was something he would’ve likely done if fields had been something he’d had access to as a kid. </p><p>He almost didn’t notice the two squad cars parked nearby, but he’d know his boyfriend anywhere; as Carlos turned away from his fellow officer and made his way toward the truck and T.K, a smile stretched across his face.</p><p>“Firefighter Strand,” Carlos nodded, voice just this side of playfulness.</p><p>“Officer,” T.K nodded to him as he continued rolling out the hose, making sure they had enough room. He was glad for the monotony. </p><p>“Everything okay?” Carlos asked, tilting his head to the side and nodding toward Owen, who was watching them, as well as his squad in equal measure.</p><p>“You got radar?” T.K replied, “Everything is fine. I made a joke, and it fell flat, and now everyone’s acting weird, that’s all.” </p><p>“What was the joke?” </p><p>And so T.K told him and sighed when Carlos’ face fell. “It’s fine; I don’t think like that anymore, at all even; it was just a brief period where everything sucked. My parents were constantly fighting; they fell out of love, and Dad was working a lot.”</p><p>Carlos nodded, agreeing albeit reluctantly; T.K could tell. “Talk to him, and then come to my place tonight?” He suggested.</p><p>T.K nodded and smiled briefly before Carlos left him to return to work.</p><p>~<br/>
“Can we talk?” Owen asked, standing by T.K’s locker.</p><p>T.K glanced around then nodded; not wanting anyone else to be privy to the conversation, he followed Owen up the stairs to the office.</p><p>“Take a seat,” Owen indicated; sitting on the couch, he waited until T.K had done so as well before speaking. “What you said earlier about me not wanting you.”</p><p>“It’s fine, Dad, it was a long time ago; I know you wanted a kid, you wanted me,” T.K replied, gripping his father’s shoulder. </p><p>“I did, I do, and I have always been proud to be your father,” Owen told him; covering T.K’s hand with his own, he squeezed. “I hate that you ever thought that about me.”</p><p>T.K nodded, then slipped his hand away. “I didn’t understand why you wanted Mom to have full custody; it felt like you didn’t want me. Now that I’m older, I know it’s because you just wanted me to have some stability, to be with someone in case something went wrong.” </p><p>They had both seen and heard how the job could go wrong, but when he was a kid, he’d never realized. </p><p>Owen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Good, I’m glad. I just want you to know I’ve never regretted a moment of being your father; I have regretted not being around enough, though.” </p><p>T.K leaned in for a hug, slapping his Dad’s back before he pulled back. “You’ve more than made up for it, though, nothing to worry about.” </p><p>Owen nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”</p><p>T.K grinned. “Yep, I’m gonna head to Carlos’.”</p><p>“Oddly, that is not a surprise to me,” Owen quipped as they both stood. “Stay safe. Love you, kid.” </p><p>“Love you too,” T.K patted him on the shoulder before turning and leaving the room. </p><p>~</p><p>T.K could think of fewer places he would rather be than stretched out on Carlos’ couch with his head in his boyfriend’s lap, containers of Chinese food strewn across the coffee table. “I don’t think I could move if you paid me to right now,” he rubbed a hand over his stomach. “I’m going to have to work out extra tomorrow.”</p><p>“We would go for a run tomorrow; I’m on the night shift, you don’t start till evening. Sleep in, go for a run, eat breakfast, wash up,” Carlos’s voice trailed off, and his smile held just a tinge of naughtiness. </p><p>“Hmm, and after we wash up?” T.K joked, his eyes sliding shut as Carlos’ fingers slide through his hair, stroking. </p><p>Carlos shrugged his shoulders, “Depends on what you feel like.” </p><p>T.K kept his eyes closed, nuzzling Carlos’ hand he grinned. “I like that,” he muttered. “I love getting to spend mornings with you.” </p><p>Leaning down, Carlos dropped a soft, cautious kiss on his lips. “I love it too,” he murmured the words, then kissed him again. “I love you.”</p><p>T.K’s eyes flew open, and he stared up at Carlos, stunned. “You do?” His voice shook slightly, and he reached for Carlos’ hand, gripping it tight. “Seriously?”</p><p>“Seriously,” Carlos told him. “You don’t have to say it back.” </p><p>“I love you too,” T.K replied, leaning up he pulled him into a kiss. “I love you so damn much.”</p><p>Carlos laughed, returning the enthusiastic kisses with his own, his face lighting up. “That’s amazing, you’re amazing.” </p><p>T.K sat up properly and shifted, leaning into his side. “I’m not the amazing one,” he shook his head. “You are; you’re the one who keeps me sane.” </p><p>“And you’re the one who makes me happy,” Carlos replied, tugging him into another soft kiss. </p><p>They didn’t make their run the following morning, and the razzing and teasing from the 126 was worth it when T.K showed up late.</p>
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